Recently, I have noticed a good number of posts on Facebook related to rescues from people who have, for one reason or another, the need to re-home their pets. Often, this is due to a misjudgement about how a pet will fit into the home, but there are also instances related to financial or health issues. Whatever the case, owners are often distraught at the thought of what might happen to their beloved pet if they can't be re-home them by a certain date. This blog post is intended to relieve that angst for many of you.
First, there are several rescue organizations dotted around the country and region setup to help address this issue. These are non-breed specific organizations like the SPCA, Wonderdog, Rocket Dog Senior Dog that can help with re-homing based solely on need and temperament. The main thing when looking at these shelters is to determine if they are a kill or no-kill shelter, which will hopefully lead you toward no-kill shelters only.
Secondly, there are breed-specific organizations that concentrate on saving specific breeds. These are very successful because they are familar with the nuances of the specific breed and can better assess if an owner and pet are a good fit based on the family's lifestyle and the type of pet they are looking for, and if they are familiar with the breed.
Although this is nowhere near a complete list, these are a few local organizations that I located online. There are many, many more organizations available for different breeds, so I suggest you check for a local rescue organization near you. Here are just a few I searched for based on my travels around the area.
German Shepherd: http://icy.tc/8yow
Jack Russell Terrier: http://icy.tc/8yox
Norwegian Elkhound: http://icy.tc/8yoy
Golden Retriever: http://icy.tc/8yoz
Labrador Retriever: http://icy.tc/8yo0
Pit Bull: http://icy.tc/8yo1
Greyhound: http://icy.tc/8yo2
Rottweiler: http://icy.tc/8yo3
Best of luck to all of you. I wish you well in your search.
Jesse
